Richmond County teen again dodges lengthy prison term

Sandy Hodson

Thursday

Nov 8, 2018 at 3:52 PMNov 8, 2018 at 7:53 PM

Bilah Givens got a third chance Thursday to prove he can break ties to the gang life.

Givens, who turns 20 on Sunday, got a break in February when a murder charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter and Judge Daniel J. Craig reduced the negotiated sentence from 10 years in prison to three years with 15 years probation to follow. He got a break, the judge told Givens, on the condition he never again contact any known gang members.

Weeks later, Givens was back in Richmond County Superior Court after prosecutors discovered that he was calling gang members from jail. Craig gave Givens another chance, explicitly telling him he could have no contact with any gang member by any means.

Givens was back in court Thursday, again accused of continuing to contact gang members. He reached out to them on Facebook and wrote letters – in one he detailed the May 14, 2016, fatal shootout that left 29-year-old Marion Terry dead, Assistant District Attorney McKenzie Gray said. In another, he wrote of his belief that once he gets out of prison the gang will be back on top and doing crimes the smart way, Gray said.

On a recorded jail phone call to his mother, Givens admitted he had contacted former co-defendant, Tra'Quan Clay, who pleaded guilty to unlawful street gang activity. While in prison, Givens got a LOE gang tattoo, Gray said.

But defense attorney Samuel Emas told the judge Givens is done with the gang and wants to do right if given the chance to prove himself. He pointed out that Facebook postings aren't specifically directed to any single person, and in one of the communications the prosecution cited Givens was warning a friend to stay out of a gang.

Givens told the judge the prosecutor was misconstruing his words in his community's slang. The people the prosecutors say are gang members or associates are family members of people who had been his friends since childhood.

Craig said he was deferring ruling, saying he had 18 years to consider Givens' action. Givens was falling for the gang's lies, and the judge asked, "When are you going to stop drinking their Kool-Aid?"

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